


Coming Home

by zopponde



Series: Tiny standalone fics [1]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Drabble Sequence, Episode: s02e26 Log Date 7 15 2, F/F, Flash Fic, Gem Fusion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-29
Updated: 2017-05-29
Packaged: 2018-10-29 23:41:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 584
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10864551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zopponde/pseuds/zopponde
Summary: Peridot probably can't fuse, but she wants to understand.





	Coming Home

**Author's Note:**

> (I feel like maybe this shouldn't _quite_ count as a "drabble sequence" but there are segments and two of them are exactly 100 words....)
> 
> seerofbread.tumblr.com

 - The dance was brief. Garnet made the moves easy for Peridot to follow, and Peridot almost relaxed in Garnet’s arms. The contact was surprisingly comforting.  
 - “Get ready,” Garnet murmured.  
 - Peridot tensed again, and it failed, and she knew why: “I can’t do it.”  
 - “That’s fine!” Garnet didn’t understand.  
 - Later, once they were friends, Peridot explained.

 - “I wasn’t made for it. Every gem has her place, and a list of roles she will never fill.”  
 - “I wasn’t made to fuse. My job is to assess Kindergarten development and solve problems before they result in gem malformation. I shouldn’t need to work on a team, and if I go somewhere dangerous, I can take an escort. I can even be replaced, if they don’t make me too fancy.”  
 - “I wasn’t made to fight, and you know how we think of fusion. There aren’t enough resources left to give a gem abilities that she isn’t made to use.”

 - Garnet always looked grave, but now she closed her fists. “Do you know that you can’t?”  
 - “There was never any reason to doubt it. Peridots don’t fuse.”  
 - “It’s different with other gems, and they wouldn’t have told you if it would work that way.” But Garnet’s hands relaxed. “I can help you try, if you want. There are so many different dances, different styles, different gems. Maybe one of them...”  
Peridot had her doubts, but she could listen to Garnet describe the principles.  
 - It wasn't all choreography, but Garnet expected dance to be key in teaching a gem fusion. Peridot’s options were limited: Pearl, unmatchable opulence in every motion; or Steven, a multitude of unknowns beyond Peridot’s knowledge; or... 

 

* * *

 

 - Amethyst restarted the music. “C’mon, then!”  
 - Peridot wouldn’t call their dances beautiful, but the glow of gemlight played its own dance and the routine was practiced into effortlessness. It felt good, close, everything Garnet described, and Peridot’s heart soared, thinking it might work.  
 - For her efforts, Peridot’s reward was the finale into Amethyst’s embrace.  
 - “Okay, maybe if...”  
 - Peridot shook her head. “I told you. They don’t make gems like they used to. Let’s just take a break,” she said, not ready for another pep talk.  
 - They lay under the stars, cradling each other, bodies touching along unbroken lines, perfect complements in their anatomy--an enjoyable proximity, but not fusion.  
 - Peridot sighed. “Is it really that nice?”  
 - “What, fusion?”

 - “It’s like, I don’t know. It’s just fusion. You just...”  
 - “It’s like becoming your favorite person, kinda. You’re half you and half... whoever. I guess it depends who, but when you love them, it’s the best.”  
 - “It’s like you don’t have to try anymore. They love you as you are, and you can feel it, you don’t even have to ask.”  
 - “It’s sort of like coming home. You forget what you were worried about, because you know that you’re not alone anymore. You don’t have anything to be scared of because they’re with you.”  
 - “It’s like being yourself, but easier.”

 - Peridot didn’t need to explain how much she had changed since she came to Earth: the very planet had become her way of life. Amethyst, more than any other gem, had taught Peridot so much about herself, had listened to so much without judgment, had changed Earth from a mission to a home.  
 - Peridot tried to explain. “I wouldn’t even be who I am now without you. And I’m a better person now. But I don’t even know if I can...”  
 - Amethyst squeezed Peridot’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, Peri. I love you too.”

**Author's Note:**

> On one hand, I'm Not A Fan of "fusion = sex" all the time. On the other hand, fusion _also_ probably shouldn't be seen as the only way to validate a relationship.


End file.
